


Lost and Found

by ageless_aislynn



Series: Snowells Kisses prompts [23]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Flashpoint Snowthawne, Snowthawne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29416788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ageless_aislynn/pseuds/ageless_aislynn
Summary: Prompt by AnonymousSnowells Kisses prompt5.Laying a gentle kiss to the back of the other’s hand.
Relationships: Caitlin Snow/Eobard Thawne
Series: Snowells Kisses prompts [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813312
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> A newcomer prompt joins the pack right before we reach the finish line, lol! I received this recently as an anonymous prompt and it hit hard for some reason. I'm always soft for Snowthawne but the idea of a Flashpoint version...? Yesplz! :D
> 
> Anyway, if you read, I hope you enjoy! ♥♥♥

Barry Allen wasn't coming back. 

Eobard recognized the inexorable click of a new timeline settling in place, felt it in his bones in the unmistakable way only a time traveler could.

 _Idiot,_ he thought and honestly wasn't sure if he meant himself or the Flash. But first things first: Barry was many things but murderously cruel wasn't one of them. He wouldn't let a person starve to death, not even _him_ but… He would no longer remember he had his old nemesis imprisoned here. He wouldn't even remember he _had_ a nemesis.

Eobard, of course, had already exhausted all of the most obvious solutions to escaping his predicament on Day One. He'd gotten more creative the longer his imprisonment went on but, to his immense dissatisfaction, Barry actually had managed to create a cage that the Reverse Flash couldn't seem to escape from.

Things were much more dire, now, though. The idea of a slow death, feeling himself growing weaker and weaker with every passing minute, made him explore options that he had previously dismissed as ridiculous. 

And nothing worked.

Then the next day, the power went out. Apparently, Barry no longer remembered he had a bill to pay.

It was sheer, stupid luck but he was too hungry to dispute it. He phased through the cage and sped to the first fast food establishment he could find - _Big_ Burger _Belly? For God's sake, Barry, this is why you don't mess with the timeline!_ \- and, in a whirlwind matter of seconds, ate them out of everything.

Once he felt less like he was on the verge of fainting - a new memory surfaced from his other self, showing him Barry going down in a truly spectacular and hilarious blood sugar collapse on the treadmill and he took a moment to chuckle - then he prepared to make the jump back in time. Killing Nora Allen now that this timeline was set was no longer a guarantee that it would put things back aright but it would definitely be a step in the right direction.

He didn't bother finding a secluded space to ramp up his speed, this timeline was about to be shattered anyway. He began to run, waiting for the tale-tell tingle of a breach opening.

There was none.

He staggered to a stop, barely avoiding tumbling into traffic. _I don't understand,_ he thought. _I have the connection to the Speed Force, I can feel it. It should open, why wouldn't it--?_

A chill went down his spine. _Unless that was one of the changes of Barry's Flashpoint, that speedsters can't travel through time any longer? Or there's now a different way to open a breach?_

For a single moment, he allowed himself to feel the panic, the cold edge of fear, then he packed it away with grim determination. _I believe it's time to see what this timeline's S.T.A.R. Labs has by way of technological advances._

As he ran, he was already weighing his options. Barry wouldn't know him, why not just walk right in, then? Claim to be a fellow speedster in need of help. No doubt the S.T.A.R. Labs team would be more than willing to help a misplaced time traveler get home and--

His speed abruptly cut off like a switch being thrown and he hit the asphalt, his suit taking the brunt of the impact as he rolled over and over before skidding to a halt.

"Oh my gosh, are you all right?"

He heard the startled voice before he raised his head. Of course, he knew her. They'd worked together for so many years, how could he not?

It was… She was…

He looked up at the brown-haired woman in the white lab coat as she rushed over to him. There was an instant when he almost said her name. It was there on the tip of his tongue. She was… She…

As he was still struggling to find her name, he passed out.

***

He woke, startled and confused.

"It's all right."

He looked to his left to find the same woman sitting in an uncomfortable-looking chair by the window. "Where am I?" he asked, his voice raspy as if it hadn't been used in a while.

"You're in Central City General Hospital," she said, rising to pour water into a cup from a small pitcher, moving the rolling tray it was on to where he could easily reach it. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

"Yes, I…" He trailed off after those initial, confident words as his memory came up blank. "I was trying to get… somewhere. For help? And I fell and… You were there."

He said that last almost as an accusation but she merely gave him a sweet smile and nodded.

"You collapsed in the parking lot of Ramon Industries," she told him. "Is that where you were trying to go?"

The name didn't sound right but he also vaguely recognized it. "I… I don't know. Why don't I know?" When he pressed for the memories, the places they should have been felt numb and empty. "What happened to me? Why can't I remember?"

"You have amnesia," she said. "Probably had some sort of trauma or accident, though physically you seem healthy. It's entirely possible that your memories will return. The brain is a remarkable thing."

She sounded authoritative and certain and he found that he trusted her without knowing why. "You're a doctor, aren't you…?" He again grasped for a name that felt like it was _right there_.

"Oh," she said, "where are my manners? I'm Caitlin. Caitlin Snow and I'm a pediatric optometrist. So, I am a doctor, just not quite the way you might've meant."

He held out his hand in a polite gesture but it wasn't until she accepted it that he realized… he just wanted to touch her. She was so familiar, so comforting. "You got me help after I passed out, then, Dr. Snow?"

She nodded and patted his hand with her other hand. "I did," she confirmed. "Do you have any idea what your name might be?"

He tightened his fingers a little bit, not wanting her to let go just yet. She gave him an understanding look and shifted her fingers so that she was gently holding his hand between both of hers. 

A name swam up through the murk and he clung to it desperately, as if someone might yank it back. "I'm… I'm… Eobard."

"Eobard," she repeated and for some reason, it sent a tiny thrill through him to hear that name from her lips. "What about your last name?"

He thought about it, waiting for it to magically appear as well. 

Nothing.

He finally sighed. "I don't know."

She patted his hand again. "Well, at least they can change part of the 'John Doe' on your file."

"John…" he repeated. "That's almost… It's just not quite…"

"Could your last name be something like 'Johns' or 'Johnson?'"

"Not Johnson. But Johns… Jaawwnnz…" Drawing the syllables out made the name feel more like... something. It was like a puzzle piece that was the right shape but didn't have the proper image on it. It fit but it wasn't _correct._ "I'm don't think it's my proper last name but it sounds close."

"Well, you can always change it later. So, it's nice to meet you, Eobard Johns," she said and shook his hand once more.

He smiled gratefully at her. The motion felt strange, like maybe he wasn't a man who genuinely smiled a lot. The smile she gave him in return kindled a tiny flame in his chest. 

_Maybe I wasn't a man who smiled a lot before,_ he thought. _But that's who I can be now._

***

"Don't be nervous," Caitlin said in a reassuring tone. "I think you'll really like everybody. They were very nice to me."

"Didn't they kidnap you?" he returned, raising an eyebrow.

"Technically, that was just Barry and he had a good reason," she said, giving a waggling gesture of her fingers.

It had been a couple of months since he had woken up in the hospital room with the memory of his first name and nothing else. Caitlin had been invaluable, putting him in touch with agencies in order to get all of his necessary I.D. replaced, to be put in a missing persons' database in the hope that someone would recognize him - no luck, so far - and had helped him find a job and a tiny apartment to call his own.

Had become his friend.

The fact that his heart rate picked up every time she looked at him, that her smile made him feel like his feet were floating just a little off the ground were things he kept to himself for now.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," he said. "You know, I really _like_ working at Big Burger Belly and--"

"I'll admit that you make an excellent burger," she interrupted. "But, come on, Eobard. You're clearly a highly intelligent scientist. It's a shame if you don't put those skills to use. And besides, now that Ramon Industries has partnered with the Flash and his fellow speedsters, this would give you a chance to use _those_ skills as well, now that they've come back."

"I'm not sure I'm the hero type," he muttered, raking a hand through his hair.

She tsked at him, stepping closer so she could use her fingers to comb the blond strands back into place. "I think you'll surprise yourself," she murmured, "if you give yourself a chance."

He realized he was leaning into her touch and made himself stop. When she finished with his hair, she adjusted his tie and straightened the lapels on his jacket.

His off-the-rack dark blue suit gave him one of those odd feelings, like the old-him would've sneered at anything less than custom-tailored while the new-him only cared if it looked all right on him. If _Caitlin_ thought it looked all right on him.

"There," she said, stepping back. "All presentable."

"I didn't know if this was too much," he said, gesturing to the suit, "I know you said that Mr. Ramon is encouraging his team to dress more informally now but I thought since it's my first day, it was better to look the part."

"Is that why you shaved?" she asked, her tone a little too casual.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his chin. _Don't ask, you'll sound overeager,_ he thought but the words escaped anyway. "Why? Did you like the beard?"

He could've sworn a soft pink blush dusted her cheeks. "I do, as a matter of fact," she said and cleared her throat.

Growing his beard back moved to the top of his personal To-Do list.

"I suppose you could've worn your _other_ suit," she said in a gently teasing tone, tucking back a lock of hair behind her ear. He got the feeling she was pointedly trying to change the subject.

"As it so happens…" He showed the gold ring he wore on his left hand. "Never leave home without it. But I'm still not sure how it fits in the ring, to tell you the truth. Maybe they can help me figure it out."

"Come on," she said, reaching over to squeeze his fingers. "I have a few hours before I see my first patient. I'll go in with you and say hi."

On impulse, he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

"What was that for?" she asked and yes, that was definitely a blush.

"That was a thank you," he said. "You never had to help me like this. I appreciate it."

"I'm just sorry you lost so much," she said, her brown eyes warming even more with the sincerity of her words.

"Oh, don't worry," he assured her with a soft smile. "I found a lot more."


End file.
